White House considering broad gun-control plan

The Denver Post

Published
12:00 am EST, Sunday, January 6, 2013

WASHINGTON -- The White House is weighing a far broader and more comprehensive approach to curbing the nation's gun violence than simply reinstating an expired ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition, according to multiple people involved in the administration's discussions.

A working group led by Vice President Joe Biden is seriously considering measures backed by key law enforcement leaders that would require universal background checks for firearm buyers, track the movement and sale of weapons through a national database, strengthen mental health checks, and stiffen penalties for carrying guns near schools or giving them to minors, the sources said.

To sell such changes, the White House is developing strategies to work around the National Rifle Association that one source said could include rallying support from Wal-Mart and other gun retailers for measures that would benefit their businesses.

White House aides have also been in regular contact with advisers to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an outspoken gun-control advocate.

The Biden group, formed last month after the massacre at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school that killed 20 children and six adults, plans to submit a package of recommendations to President Barack Obama this month. Once Obama's proposals are set, he plans to lead a public-relations offensive to generate popular support.

"They are very clearly committed to looking at this issue comprehensively," said Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, who has been involved in the discussions. The proposals under consideration, he added, are "a deeper exploration than just the assault-weapons ban."

Biden's group has expanded its focus to include measures that would not need congressional approval and could be implemented by executive action, according to interest-group leaders who have discussed options with Biden and key Cabinet secretaries. Possibilities include changes to federal mental-health programs and modernization of gun-tracking efforts by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

"Simply coming up with one or two aspects of it really falls short of the magnitude of the gun issue in the country," said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum.

Wexler was among a dozen law enforcement leaders who met with Biden and other administration leaders in the aftermath of the Dec. 14 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.

Biden said the White House group would consider a variety of proposals -- from requiring background checks for all gun buyers to creating a new database that would allow the ATF to track all gun sales, according to participants.

Some of the options the administration is considering might not ultimately be included in Obama's package. A White House spokesman said Biden's group was in the midst of its review and has made no decisions on its final recommendations.